This is a week I’ve been both waiting for and dreading: the return of Saturday night racing at Evergreen Speedway.
“Waiting for” because there is nothing like seeing and hearing short-track racing up close and personal. The drivers, fans, crew, owners and speedway workers are great; there is a lot of variety — five divisions on Saturday; and the fender-to-fender action is exciting in a way racing on TV can’t capture.
“Dreading” because my fearless predictions just got a whole lot harder. There are a lot of talented folks in all divisions driving at Evergreen Speedway, so picking winners week-to-week is going to be rough.
So here goes, local picks first and national after.
Evergreen Speedway
Super stock division: I’m going to say Naima Lang will start the season with his first win in the top tier of the Whelen All-American Series.I’m also going to take Lang to win the season championship.
Bombers: Let’s call it a family sweep and say Jill Lang wins Saturday’s opener. I’ll change course on the championship, however, and go with Darrel Lutovsky to improve on last year’s second-place finish.
Mini-stocks: With four ex-champions in the mix, and strong racers like Kris and Mindy Harriss also running, this is a tough, tough call. I’m going to say Mark Weedin wins the opener and the championship.
Super figure eights: I don’t know nearly enough about this group, but plan on fixing that. For now, I’ll play it safe and say Ricky Dietz wins the opener and John “The Cowboy” Carlson repeats as champion.
NASCAR
I still need wins in both the Cup and Nationwide series for my Grand Slam of Prognostication.
Sprint Cup: I’ve been so busy getting ready for Evergreen Speedway’s opener that I’m clueless about Saturday night’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Arizona.
Three of the two five qualifiers are in Dodges, but I’m just not convinced the Mopar CoT is competitive enough to win consistently (more and more it looks like Ryan Newman was just in the right groove at the right time in Daytona).
The action starts before the sun goes down, so having a good setup and making smart changes down the stretch will be critical.
I’m inclined to go with either Carl Edwards or Kyle Busch. I’ll go with my Dad’s preference and say Busch.
Nationwide: I’ll again play it safe by saying Clint Bowyer repeats as winner of the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200.
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